Honoring the Land

I offer this land acknowledgement not as a formality, but as an act of living respect, accountability, and connection.

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I live and work on Treaty 6 Territory, the traditional and ongoing lands of the Cree, Dene, Saulteaux, Nakota Sioux, Blackfoot, and the Métis Nation of Alberta (Region 4). This place has long been a home, a gathering ground, and a source of life for Indigenous Peoples, and it remains so today.

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As a person of Ojibwe and Polish settler ancestry, my relationship to this land and its histories is complex and ongoing. I carry connections to Indigenous ways of knowing and belonging, while also recognizing my location within settler systems and the responsibilities that come with that.

 

My family history is shaped by intergenerational trauma tied to the First and Second World Wars, including experiences of rupture and abandonment. These realities shape how I understand resilience, survival, and the ongoing search for connection. I do not approach this work from a place of neutrality. I come with lived experience, accountability, and a commitment to continual learning and reflection.

 

My presence here is shaped by intergenerational memory, ongoing learning, and a commitment to decolonial practice.

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Treaty 6 was not the end of colonization. It exists within a broader system that displaced and attempted to erase Indigenous Peoples, cultures, and governance. These impacts are not confined to the past. They are ongoing. I hold this truth as part of my responsibility to make space for healing, sovereignty, and justice, not only in my work, but in my relationships and actions.

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This acknowledgement is not the work. It is a beginning. I remain committed to listening, unlearning, and honoring the voices, leadership, and rights of Indigenous Peoples with humility and respect. I aim to not cause harm and to walk gently in this life.